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Cronology of Plowshares actions / Plogbillsaktioner i världen
This chronology is compiled by Art Laffin in February 1996 and briefly
describes each of the plowshares and disarmament actions and the trials and
sentences each person received.
PLOWSHARES EIGHT: September 9, 1980 Daniel Berrigan, Jesuit priest,
author and poet from New York City; Philip Berrigan, father and co-founder of
Jonah House in Baltimore, MD; Dean Hammer, member of the Covenant Peace
Community in New Haven, CT; Elmer Maas, musician and former college teacher
from New York City; Carl Kabat, Oblate priest and missionary; Anne Montgomery,
Religious of the Sacred Heart sister and teacher from New York City; Molly
Rush, mother and founder of the Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburgh and John
Schuchardt, ex-marine, lawyer, father and member of Jonah House, entered the
General Electric Nuclear Missile Re-entry Division in King of Prussia, PA
where nose cones for the Mark 12A warheads were made. They hammered on two
nose cones, poured blood on documents and offered prayers for peace. They were
arrested and initially charged with over ten different felony and misdemeanor
counts. In February 1981, they underwent a jury trial in Norristown,
Pennsylvania. During their trial they were denied a "justification
defense" and could not present expert testimony. Due to the Court's
suppression of individual testimony about the Mark 12A and U.S. nuclear
war-fighting policies, four left the trial and returned to witness at G.E.
They were re-arrested and returned to court. They were convicted by a jury of
burglary, conspiracy and criminal mischief and sentenced to prison terms of
five to ten years. They appealed and the Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed
their conviction in February 1984. The State of Pennsylvania then appealed
that decision. Following a ruling in the fall of 1985 by the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court in favor of the State on certain issues (including the exclusion
of the justification defense), the case was returned to the Superior Court
Appeals Panel. In December of 1987, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania refused
their appeal, but ordered a re-sentencing. This ruling, however, was appealed
to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In February 1989 the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court denied a hearing of any further issues in the case, and on October 2,
1989 the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would not hear the Plowshares Eight
Appeal. On April 10, 1990 the Plowshares Eight were resentenced by the
Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas in Norristown and, with neither the
prosecutor nor G.E. making any recommendations or asking reparations, paroled
for up to 23 and 1/2 months in consideration of time already served in prison.
Judge James Buckingham listened attentively to statements by defendants,
attorney Ramsey Clark, Dr. Robert J. Lifton, and Professors Richard Falk and
Howard Zinn, placing the "crime" in the context of the common plight
of humanity, international law, America’s long tradition of dissent, and the
primacy of individual conscience over entrenched political systems, as
demonstrated recently in eastern Europe.
* * *
PLOWSHARES NUMBER TWO: On December 13, 1980 Peter DeMott, former
seminarian and Vietnam veteran from Jonah House, entered the General Dynamics
Electric Boat (EB) shipyard in Groton, Connecticut during the launch ceremony
for the "USS Baltimore" fast attack submarine. Noticing an empty EB
security van with keys in it, he got into the van and repeatedly rammed the
Trident "USS Florida" denting the rudder. Security guards then broke
into the van and arrested him. He was tried by a jury in New London Superior
Court and convicted of criminal mischief and criminal trespass. He was
sentenced to one year in jail.
* * *
TRIDENT NEIN: (German for No): Independence Day, 1982, Judy
Beaumont, a Benedictine sister and teacher from Chicago; Anne Montgomery, of
the Plowshares Eight; James Cunningham, an ex-lawyer from Jonah House; George
Veasey, a Vietnam Veteran also from Jonah House; Tim Quinn, expectant father
and housepainter from Hartford, CT; Anne Bennis, teacher from Philadelphia;
Bill Hartman, peace worker from Philadelphia; Vincent Kay, housepainter and
poet from New Haven; and Art Laffin, member of the Covenant Peace Community in
New Haven; entered EB to make a "declaration of independence" from
the Trident submarine and all nuclear weapons. Four boarded the Trident
"USS Florida" by canoe, hammered on several missile hatches, poured
blood, and with spray paint, renamed the submarine "USS Auschwitz."
They were arrested within half an hour. Meanwhile, five others entered EB's
south storage yard and hammered and poured blood on two Trident sonar spheres.
They were apprehended after three hours. During their two week jury trial in
New London Superior Court, they were disallowed a justification defense and
expert witnesses were prohibited from testifying about the dangers of the
first-strike Trident. They were convicted of criminal mischief, conspiracy and
criminal trespass and ordered to pay $1,386.67 in restitution to the Navy.
They were sentenced to jail for up to one year.
* * *
PLOWSHARES NUMBER FOUR: November 14, 1982 - five days after the
Trident Nein sentencing - John Grady, auto mechanic from Ithaca, New York;
Ellen Grady, aide to an elderly woman and peace worker, also from Ithaca;
Peter DeMott, of Plowshares Number Two; Jean Holladay, grandmother and nurse
from Massachusetts; Roger Ludwig, a poet and musician involved in work with
the poor in Washington, D.C.; Elmer Maas, of the Plowshares Eight; and Marcia
Timmel, from the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington, D.C.; entered EB.
Three boarded the Trident "USS Georgia" and hammered and poured
blood on several missile hatches. Four others entered the south storage yard
and poured blood and hammered on Trident components before being quickly
apprehended. Like the Trident Nein, they underwent a jury trial and were
denied a justification defense. They also were convicted of criminal mischief,
conspiracy and criminal trespass. They received prison sentences ranging from
two months to one year.
* * *
AVCO PLOWSHARES: July 14, 1983 Agnes Bauerlein, mother and
grandmother from Ambler, PA; Macy Morse, mother and grandmother from Nashua,
NH; Mary Lyons, mother, grandmother and teacher from Hartford, CT; Frank
Panopoulos, member of the Cor Jesu community from New York City; Jean Holladay,
of the Plowshares Number Four; John Pendleton, member of Jonah House; and John
Schuchardt, of the Plowshares Eight; entered the AVCO Systems Division in
Wilmington, Massachusetts, where MX and Pershing II nuclear weapons components
are produced. They hammered on computer equipment related to these weapons
systems and poured blood on blueprints labeled MX-"Peacekeeper."
They also issued an indictment against AVCO and its co-conspirators, including
the "national security state" and the Armed Forces, with an
indictment for committing crimes against God and humanity by manufacturing for
profit weapons of genocide. They were apprehended within an hour. During their
jury trial they were able to present a justification defense but this defense
and expert testimony was disallowed by the judge prior to jury deliberation.
They were convicted of wanton destruction and trespass. They were sentenced to
jail for up to three and one-half months. After seven years in the
Massachusetts Appellate Courts, their appeal was denied on November 16, 1990.
They were then sentenced to time already served which included three months
for Jean and John Pendleton and nearly two weeks for the others.
* * *
GRIFFISS PLOWSHARES: On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1983 Jackie
Allen, a nursery school teacher from Hartford, CT; Clare Grady, an artist and
potter from Ithaca, NY; Dean Hammer, father and member of the Plowshares Eight;
Elizabeth McAlister, mother and co-founder of Jonah House; Vern Rossman,
minister, father and grandfather from Boston, MA; Kathleen Rumpf, a Catholic
Worker from Marlboro, NY; and Karl Smith, member of Jonah House; entered
Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY. They hammered and poured blood on a B-52
bomber converted to carry cruise missiles as well as on B-52 engines. They
also left at the site of their witness a written indictment of Griffiss Air
Force Base and the U.S. Government pointing to the war crimes of preparing for
nuclear war and depicting how the new state religion of "nuclearism"
denies constitutional rights and punishes acts of conscience. Unnoticed for
several hours, they finally approached security guards and were arrested. In
this, the first Plowshares case to be tried in Federal Court, their
justification defense was denied. They were acquitted by a jury of sabotage,
but they were convicted of conspiracy and destruction of government property.
They received prison sentences ranging from two to three years. Their appeal
was denied in Federal Court in March 1985.
* * *
PLOWSHARES NUMBER SEVEN: On December 4, 1983 Carl Kabat, of the
Plowshares Eight, and three West Germans - Herwig Jantschik, Dr. Wolfgang
Sternstein and Karin Vix - entered a U.S. Army base in Schwaebisch-Gmuend,
West Germany and carried out the first Plowshares action in Europe. Six weeks
earlier, they publicly announced their actions, but did not disclose the exact
date or place. They participated in a six week peace march in Germany where
they distributed a booklet informing the public and media about their action
and previous plowshares actions. On December 4, they entered the base early in
the morning and with hammers and bolt cutters disarmed a Pershing II missile
launcher. They were soon apprehended by U.S. soldiers. Following their arrest,
they were all released ROR. Carl returned to the U.S. and did not attend the
trial. During the first week of February 1985, the three Germans were tried
before the three judges and two lay judges and convicted. After their
conviction, the judges called the Pershing II a "bad prophesy," and
characterized their action as violence. Herwig and Wolfgang were sentenced to
1800 DM ($900) or 90 days in jail, while Karin was sentenced to 450 dm ($225)
or 60 days in jail. Karin and Herwig served their prison sentence; Wolfgang
paid the fine.
* * *
PERSHING PLOWSHARES: In the season of Passover, Easter Morning,
April 22, 1984 Per Herngren, a student and peace worker from Sweden; Paul
Magno, from the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington, D.C.; Todd Kaplan,
involved in work with the poor in Washington, D.C.; Tim Lietzke, member of
Jeremiah House in Richmond, VA; Anne Montgomery, of the Plowshares Eight and
Trident Nein; Patrick O'Neill, university student and peace worker from
Greenville, North Carolina; Jim Perkins, teacher, father and member of Jonah
House; and Christin Schmidt, university student and peace worker from Rhode
Island; entered Martin Marietta in Orlando, Florida. Once inside, they
hammered and poured blood on Pershing II missile components and on a Patriot
missile launcher. They also served Martin Marietta with an indictment for
engaging in the criminal activity of building nuclear weapons in violation of
Divine, international and national law. They also displayed a banner which
said: "Violence Ends Where Love Begins." They were apprehended after
several hours. During their jury trial in Federal Court they were denied a
justification defense. They were convicted of depredation of government
property and conspiracy. They were sentenced to three years in federal prison,
given five year suspended sentences with probation, and each ordered to pay
$2,900 in restitution. Both their appeal and motion for reduction of sentence
were denied in Federal Court. Herngren, a Swedish national, was deported on
August 27, 1985 after serving over a year of his sentence.
* * *
SPERRY SOFTWARE PAIR: August 10, 1984 John LaForge and Barbara Katt,
house painters and peace workers from Bemidji, MN, dressed as quality control
inspectors, entered Sperry Corporation in Eagan, Minnesota. Once inside they
poured blood and hammered on two prototype computers designed to provide
guidance and navigation information for Trident submarines and F4G fighter
bombers. In addressing Sperry's nuclear war preparations, they also served
Sperry with a citizens indictment declaring that they are committing war
crimes in violation of national and international law. After a two day jury
trial in Federal Court in which they were allowed to present a justification
defense, they were convicted of destruction of government property. Judge
Miles Lord imposed a six month suspended sentence and used the occasion to
criticize the arms industry, and to cite Sperry's corporate corruption. He
also recognized the legitimacy of the justification defense for civil
disobedience trials and for the Sperry Software trial in particular.
* * *
TRIDENT II PLOWSHARES: October 1, 1984 William Boston, a house
painter and peace worker from New Haven, CT; Jean Holladay, of the Plowshares
Number Four and AVCO Plowshares; Frank Panopoulos and John Pendleton of the
AVCO Plowshares; and Leo Schiff, draft registration resister and natural foods
chef from Vermont; entered the EB Quonset Point facility in North Kingston,
Rhode Island. They hammered and poured blood on six Trident II missile tubes
and unfurled a banner which said: "Harvest of Hope - Swords into
Plowshares." They also placed a pumpkin at the site and posted a written
"Call to Conscience" on the missile tubes condemning these weapons
under international and religious law and calling on those responsible to
cease their crimes against humanity. They were arrested within half an hour
and charged with possession of burglary tools, malicious damage to property
and criminal trespass. During their jury trial, expert witnesses were allowed
to be qualified in the presence of the jury. However the judge ruled this and
other expert testimony irrelevant and denied a justification defense. At the
end of their two week-long trial, the prosecution dropped the burglary tools
charge (a felony carrying ten years) as the defendants pled guilty to the
malicious damage to property charge. (After the State's case, the judge
dismissed the trespass charge). After two days of prayer and discernment, the
five concluded that pleading guilty was the most nonviolent course to take. On
October 18, 1985 they were each sentenced to one year and a $500 fine. Frank
was given an additional two months for a contempt charge relating to his
refusal to disclose to the judge who drove the group to EB.
* * *
SILO PRUNING HOOKS: November 12, 1984 Carl Kabat, of the Plowshares
Eight and Plowshares Number Seven; Paul Kabat, an Oblate priest from
Minnesota; Larry Cloud Morgan, Native American and mental health care worker
from Minneapolis, MN; Helen Woodson, mother of eleven children and founder of
the Gaudete Peace and Justice Center from Madison, WI; entered a Minuteman II
missile silo controlled by Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, Missouri.
Once inside the silo area, they used a jackhammer and air compressor to damage
the silo cover lid. They then offered a Eucharist and left at the silo a
Biblical and Native American indictment of the U.S. government and the
institutional church for their complicity in the pending omnicide of nuclear
holocaust. They were arrested close to an hour after their action by armed
military guards authorized to use "deadly force" against intruders.
Following their arrest, they were declared by the court to be a "threat
to the community" and were thus held on "preventive detention"
and denied bond. They underwent a jury trial in Federal Court in February 1985
in Kansas City, Missouri. They were convicted of destruction of government
property, conspiracy, intent to damage the national defense and trespass. On
March 27, 1985 they received the most severe prison sentences to date of any
Plowshares group: Larry - eight years; Paul - ten years; and Carl and Helen -
eighteen years. They were also given three to five years probation and ordered
to pay $2,932.80 each in restitution. On November 1, 1985 U.S. District Judge
D. Brook Bartlett, their trial judge, reduced Helen's sentence from eighteen
to twelve years, including 5 years probation. In March 1987, Larry and Paul
were released from prison following a sentence reduction hearing. Larry's
sentence was reduced to 36 months and three years probation while Paul's
sentence was reduced to 40 months and 4 years probation. Both were required to
perform 300 hours of community service and not violate the law for the
duration of their probation. All but Helen appealed. Their appeals were denied
in the Spring of 1986. On April 22, 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled not to
consider Carl's appeal. His sentence has since been reduced to 10 years
including 5 years probation. On April 12, 1991 Carl was released on probation
with the condition that he pay restitution. For reasons of conscience he has
refused to comply with this order. On January 27, 1989 Larry was convicted of
two counts of going out of the district of Minnesota, a violation of his
probation, and was sentenced to prison for one year. The occasions of his
departures were to attend protests at the Trident base in King’s Bay
Georgia. He was taken into custody by U.S. marshalls at a church near the
Trident base. Due to health reasons the Judge recommended that Larry be sent
to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Rochester, Minnesota. Larry was
released on November 13, 1989.
RESISTANCE IN CAPTIVITY - On March 16, 1988 Helen Woodson walked
through the main gate of Alderson Prison carrying a banner and statement
protesting the nuclear arms race, pollution of the environment and prison
conditions for women. She was apprehended outside the prison by a patrol
vehicle. She was temporarily placed in solitary confinement and then
transferred to FCI Pleasanton in California. On December 10, 1988 in honor of
Gaudete (Rejoice!) Sunday, Helen carried out another resistance action, this
time, at FCI Pleasanton. She walked to the rec field track bearing an athletic
bag stuffed with sheets, towels and papers doused with flammable nail polish,
set the bag next to the fence and ignited a "lovely Advent blaze."
Then she hung a banner reading: "There is no security in the U.S.
government, nuclear weapons, chemical contaminants, prisons and
UNICOR-military prison industries. Fences make slaves. Tear Them Down."
And then, with toenail clippers, she snipped the "security" alarm
wire, severing it in four separate places. She was sent to the hole and
charged with attempted escape, arson, destruction of government property and
inciting to riot. In late January 1989 she was moved to MCC San Diego. Before
leaving Pleasanton she learned that the evidence for her action was destroyed
and she was not prosecuted. After a short stint in San Diego, she was
transferred to Marianna Prison in Florida. As a result of federal appeals
court ruling, Helen was released on parole on June 14, 1993. During the spring
of 1993 an appeals court overturned a lower court ruling and affirmed the
government's position that it could release Helen on parole. Helen had filed a
civil suit asking to be held in prison until the expiration of her sentence,
and then be unconditionally released. Three days after her release, she was
involved in several controversial protests (which went outside the bounds of
traditional nonviolent protest) focusing on the idolatry of money, corporate
greed and the destruction of the earth. She was arrested and convicted for
these actions and was sentenced to 202 months in prison. She is now at the
Marianna Prison.
* * *
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